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Topic: Advice for SHB infestation needed :-( (Read 1555 times)

rain finally went so I got to pull my new hives apart and the news wasn't good .

Hive 5 ( quad 2 + 2 ) had a rank smell in the double brood box, maggots, spoiled honey etc for the life of me I couldn't see the queen. No capped/uncapped brood etc pulled out all the infected frames and threw them in a pool to get away from the bees... I reduced it down to just the base box (which I nuked with a blow torch) with fresh foundation - will see if I get any laying activity in a week or so???

In Hive 6 I think it may be the same story :-(

In Hive 3 which is next to these :-x I found only one partially worked sheet in the super I'd added... pulled it to check the brood box and was stunned to see mainly drones and very few workers - I did however spot my queen.... no eggs, larvae or capped/uncapped brood.... most of the pollen stores have been raided by the maggots I found on the floor of the base... I can see 2-3mm long maggots in the cells :-x How should I handle this hive????

I've got 3 hives unaffected that are going strong which I could take frames from???

Does anybody have the time to write me a step by step plan of attack to deal with these pests and save my hives...

I've got Aj traps and the earth traps and was going to place both in each hive...

You have to kill those beetles before they lay eggs. Use traps, torch, or your thumb. Any way you can kill them at all cost. Once they are laying eggs, they life cycle has started over. Look into oil trays also.

I feel your pain, I was all but wiped out this season with SHB and am rebuilding slowly with some package Bee's.I am using Apithor bait stations and Beetletra slotted bottom boards with a lime filled trap. The traps were collecting 20 SHB per day for the first month and now there is about 8 to 10 every day.

I have been down your path and like you the Queen was still in the hive but she wouldn't lay even after I reduced the hives size and cleaned up the mess. In the end they just continually swarmed ( I caught them everytime) and died out as the queens refused to lay.

I would go through your hive and find enough good combs which haven't been slimed and freeze them for 3 days and place them in a brood box.

Find the queen and cage her.

Place her in the new after it has thawed once frozen comb(On a frame of brood from another hive) (leave caged)Brood box

Put a clearer board on top of the brood box

Place the super/s on top of the clearer board so all the Bee's will populate the new reconditioned brood box( or shake them into the new brood box and on the ground at the front of the hive.)

I would probably consider moving them as well maybe...................

I would released the queen from the caged after a few days, she might not lay so watch her.

And yeah put as many traps/baits or what ever you can afford in there.

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

THANKS ANYBREW, HAVE HAD A FEW FRAMES IN THE CHESTY FOR MORE THAN THAT SO WILL GRAB THEM AND THAW THEM OUT... YOU WERE MOST HELPFUL!!!!

YANTABULLA, DOUBT IF EITHER OF THOSE - SMELLED LIKE ROTTEN ORANGES AND ALL THE HONEY WAS FERMENTED... STUCK SOME MATCHES IN BUT THE CELLS ARE TOTALLY EMPTY AND NO STRETCHY GOOEY STUFF... BUT WILL NOW CALL THE DPI GUYS FOR TEST KITS! JUST TO BE SURE!

That sux Harpo, sorry to hear you're having this problem. The smell is most likely from the slime and fermented honey. Unfortunately by the time it's gone this far it's usually too late. I'm surprised that the queen(s) are still there...usually they abscond (presumably from the smell) by now.

Strong hives are usually able to keep the SHB at bay but it's a constant battle. You need to pay close attention and knock the hives down if bee populations are low. Use any and all types of traps to relieve the pressure from attack and keep them on the edge of swarming. It takes practice.

I would transfer the queen and any bees you have left into the smallest space they'll fit into (2-3 frame nuc if you can whip one up) and keep your eyes peeled...feed with an inverted jar that the bees can defend. Freeze everything else especially pollen frames, that's what the beetles are after most.

Scott

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THANKS FOR THAT SCOTT -JUST A TAD PISSE AS I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THEM UNTIL I GOT 2 HIVES FROM A GUY WHEN THE BEEK DIED - ROLLED THE DICE AS THEY HAD BEEN LAST LOOKED AT IN SEPTEMBER!!

I DITCHED ALL THE ROTTEN FRAMES AND REDUCED TO JUST THE BROOD BOXES IN THE IMPORTS - HAVE DONE THE SAME WITH THE 3RD AND AM PLANNING ON PUTTING A FRAME OF BROOD FROM A HEALTHY HIVE IN TO BOOST NO'S AND SOME UNCAPPED HONEY TOO TO GIVE THEM HELP ???

MAY PUT HIVE 3 IN A NUC I HAVE TILL NO'S GO UP - GREAT IDEA!!! X:X

BEING A NEWBIE IT'S QUITE DAUNTING AND HAVE BEEN IN TEARS MOST OF THE MORNING BUT I DO HAVE HOPE I CAN WIN!!!!

GOT REPLACEMENT BASE BOXES AND SUPERS SO WILL BLAST ALL THE INFECTED ONES WITH BLOW TORCH THEN PAINT, THEN STRIP OUT AND RESHEET THE BAD FRAMES AND FREEZE SOME THAT LOOK OKAY...

if you have any stickies put them in and if there is anything salvageable in the hive wack it in the freezer for at least 36 hours.

You said your hives are in the sun. good start, now block all vents to the hive (strong hives need high brood temp ~38'c and high brood temp bees live longer than 34'c brood. twice as long actually) & reduce your entrance to almost half width.

Don't worry about over heating of the hive, the bees can handle it until the outside temp reaches 40+'c them you will need to open the vents.Remember swarms don't have the luxury of vents in trees, so they are not needed.

if you have brood available to you, place 2x frames of brood in between your stickies, make sure it is capped, and no need to transfer bees with it, keep your old bees from the slimed hive. If you have a cage, cage your queen and place her between the 2 frames of brood, as the new bees hatch, they will look after the queen, feed her and get her laying again.

there are other tricks to kick starting your slimed hives also,pollen patties will kick off brood production againpure icing sugar (not icing mix) on top of the top bars for some food to kick nectar production.you can put icing mix in beetle traps (it dehydrates them once eaten, and they love the sweetness)you can make a sugar and cinnamon liquid mix and spray all your frame with it, it will get the bees cleaning the frames & cinnamon is antibacterial.

hth

cheersMark

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We're all sad with you. I had an infestation once before we even knew they were in the area. If only the new hives were infected you can probably blame them for the trouble, but otherwise, SHB are sure to have been in your area a long time because I think they came via the Hunter Valley. They do fly and travel. It is a very good idea to inspect new hives you bring home for obvious disease! Also, if it's been raining where you are like it has in some parts of NSW, the wet conditions might have spurred them on. You really shouldn't have a hive without trap/s. Also, as suggested, minimize the space so the bees can defend it better. Keep the honey frames off the walls as much as possible. As above, apithor is a trap containing fipronil, and last I read, Australia has a permit to use it for emergency purposes until mid year. http://www.apithor.com.au/ If I were you, I'd try it until you've built up strong hives again.

Beekeeping is full of setbacks like any farming and animal raising. There will always be new problems and believe me, I'd had some doozies, but you can learn from them too. When you've done your best to prepare for the SHB war, I'm sure you will be able to sit back for a while and just reel those loads of honey in.

Don't worry about over heating of the hive, the bees can handle it until the outside temp reaches 40+'c them you will need to open the vents.Remember swarms don't have the luxury of vents in trees, so they are not needed.

They also have a lot more solid wood around them that insulates the hive from the external temperature.